I wanted to comment and let u know how thankful and blessed I feel to have found your videos. I'm 36 with 4 kids and wonderful husband but unfortunately due to my multiple sclerosis I am disabled and in pain and cannot do a bunch of things I once did but I'm hoping since my son keeps shooting these nice deer I can help him mount some of his own after watching your videos. God bless
Hey thanks for watching! Taxidermy is a fun hobby to get the whole family involved in and can turn in to a career for kids who start at a young age and develop their skills as the progress over the years. I will have more content available on the channel covering the finishing process and airbrushing of deer very soon. If you have any questions feel free to send them in the comments.
Hi. I've been doing taxidermy 25 years. Fun to see your techniques vs mine. I do mostly mulies, interesting seeing the little differences. I never get to work on short incision capes either. I like to use a paint brush and really soften the edge of the eye lids and lachrymal crease. Nice work.
Hey thanks for watching! Yes it’s amazing how many different techniques there are in taxidermy. Over the years I have integrated various techniques into one system that I use on all of my big game mounts. And like they say it’s never to late to teach an old dog new tricks. So I’m always looking for new ways to improve my system and make it better. I wish RU-vid would have been around 25 years ago would have made the learning curve a whole lot easier. And for the short incision I have worked on elk with the long incision and after all that sewing l thought my fingers were going to fall off😂
As a hunter who only shoots mature deer, it's getting to where I can't afford what taxidermy costs now, so I've been devouring everything I can learn in hopes of learning to diy. Thanks for taking the time to show how you do it.
Hey thanks for watching! It is definitely getting expensive to have animals mounted. There are lots of good taxidermy videos on RU-vid to get you headed in the right direction. Be sure to hit the subscribe button and the notification so you will know when I have new videos up on the channel.
Wasnt expecting that! Thank you for the video! You jumped a couple of key spots for me that I really wanted to see and that was the eye clay. But I'm sure ill figure it out! Thank you again
Hey thanks for watching! I plan on doing an in depth video of the eye setting procedure. Be sure to hit the notification so you will know when I have new content available.
Getting my second big buck done right know and was always curious on how it was done, hopefully you will be doing a video on the finished product with the painting. Cant wait for more videos.
Hey thanks for watching! It is a great hobby and can turn into really great business. I have a full lineup of how to videos on my channel and lots more in production now. Make sure you hit the notification bell so you will know when I have new content available on the channel.
got my first mounter this year, a 10 pt. I am having a guy mount it. Interesting to see how it is done. Must be a super slow drying glue that you use, to allow you to work the skin like that.
Hey thanks for watching! The hide paste dries permanent in about three to four days depending on temperature and humidity. That allows you to do adjustments on the skin to really work on muscle detail and the eyes ,nose and mouth over the next few days as it dries.
@@ClearCreekTaxidermy so from what I see it's a plastic deer head with skin glued over top of it . Just curious to know if I take a deer to get mounted if I'm getting my actual deer head that I shot.
Hey thanks for watching! Yes it is a foam form with the skin glued on it. The skull plate and antlers and skin are all yours if the taxidermist keeps a tracking number that is assigned to you.
Hey thanks for watching! I have lots more on the way! Be sure to hit the notification button so you will know when I have new content up on the channel
I didn't have a clue how this was done - very interesting. Still not sure how those ears get set. So it IS glued, just a very slow cure glue? I'm not about start doing my own - this is a true art.
Hey thanks for watching! There are ear liners installed inside the ear and l use a two part epoxy specially formulated for the ear. This adhesive has a fast dry time about an hour.so you have to have the ear skin set pretty quick.
@@ClearCreekTaxidermy Gotcha. I found the whole thing very interesting. I hope to have a bear in a few months. Do you do bear rugs or do you send those away? I've heard most taxidermists don't want to deal with them.
Thank you for sharing and making the videos.there awesome and very informative.only question I have is whom do you use for your taxidermy supplies and your forms? Also what clay and other brand products do you prefer?
Hey thanks for watching! I use McKenzie taxidermy supply and Matuska taxidermy supply. I use kritter clay for all of my eye work and marblex air dry clay for everything else.
I hope you are going to do more videos these are awesome! Your a great teacher as well patience and thorough (any chance you do a video on your finishing work paint and final details?)
I am going to do a finishing and airbrush video in the near future. I have a lot of videos in production now so be on the lookout for them. Thanks for watching! And thanks for the compliment!
You actually replied that’s awesome! That is amazing I’ll be on the lookout and what about clay work around the ears that part slipped so you have to clay around the ears like the eyes
It all depends on what method you use to set the ears. If you use the plastic ear butts like you see in my ear mounting video there’s hardly any clay used around the ear butt. The only place I put it is at the skull plate and over the screw. If there’s a gap around the bottom half of the ear butt you could use some just to blend it in but most of the forms I use has a smooth transition
Awesome video. Question, those small pins around the eye work, are those temporary during the drying process or do you leave them in permanently? Thanks again
Hey thanks for watching! The pins in the front corner of the eyes are permanent to lock the eye skin in place. I will cover the pins with epoxy sculpt when I do the finish work.
Hey thanks for watching! You leave all the pins in that you see me place at different points. Like the front corner of the eye. I will put four in the tear duct in different direction to hold the skin in place. If you tuck the skin of the tear duct hair to hair (another words) tuck it to the point of not seeing any bare skin at all in the tear duct area you can install the pins deep enough where they won’t be visible.
Hey thanks for watching! Yes you do have to rough up the form before applying the hide paste. This will remove the residue left over from the mold release that is applied to the mold during the molding process and also gives the glue something to bind with on the form. Go over to my channel and check out my form prep video. It goes along with the mounting video. I also have many other video’s that apply to the mounting video as well.
Hey thanks for watching! I will use a soft bristle brush and a cotton cloth to clean the fur. Making sure I go in the direction of the hair. If it is a animal with fluffy hair like coyote, fox, raccoon. I will use compressed air or a hair dryer on no heat setting to fluff the hair back up and to help remove dust. Then you can finish up by cleaning the eyes, antlers and horns by using a damp cloth with warm water. You can also clean fish with a damp cloth . Just be careful with the fins and gills. I will usually clean my own personal mounts when I do my dusting every couple of weeks.
Hey thanks for watching! I will sew the split with light cape thread using the whip stitch while the ear is turned inside out. Try to keep the hair out if the stitches. After you get it stitched up turn the ear right side out and brush out the seam with a small steal brush.
You will need to clay in the back of the skull. It doesn’t take much you just want to blend the back of the skull into the form. I don’t put any on top of the skull plate except for covering the screw heads.
I love this video, but if I may ask hat do I do to prep for this? What do I have to do to the skin before I can mount, and do I have to preserve the antlers or anything?
Hey thanks for watching! You will need to prep the hide by salting, fleshing and tanning. The antlers only need to have the skull plate cleaned of all meat and tissue. Go over to my channel and check out all of my videos I go over all of these processes to tan a hide. Be sure to subscribe and click the notification button so you will know when I have new content available on the channel.
@@ClearCreekTaxidermy I will do so, thanks for the reply so quick! I’m gonna start taxidermy this September on a squirrel. I was just curious on a deer.
That’s awesome! Once you learn the process for tanning mammals you can use the same process from small game to big game. Just make sure if you work with animals with greasy hides to add the degreasing step into the process. Such as raccoon, coyote, hogs and bear. All of this is covered in my tanning videos.
Hey thanks for watching! The forms that you mount the hide on can be ordered from a taxidermy supply company. There are lots of different companies out there just check them out online. Look up taxidermy supply companies.
Just curious if the video time is the full actual time or did u take breaks/work off screen. Wondering how much time I should reserve to attempt the work covered in this video.
Yes you can finish it up the next day. If I have to stop and then work on it the next day I will put a plastic bag over the head and face so it won’t dry out. It al depends on the temperature and humidity as to how fast it dries. If I think I’m not going to finish the same day I will get the cape on the form in the correct position mount the antlers do the clay work around them set ears sew up around antler burrs. I then will bag the head/ face and finish the next day.
I just found your channel and subscribed. I have never done taxidermy with the exception of a few euro mounts, but as a hunter, Id really like to try doing my own mounts. thought id sub to your channel and see if its feasible to pick up the skills via youtube and self teach. As a new subscriber who is interested in this, any chance you could put together a video of tools and supplies needed to do one of these shoulder mounts? I will be going back to watch all the other vids and get caught up! Merry Christmas as well.
Hey thanks for watching! And Merry Christmas! I have already started production of a tool and supply video that should be on the channel very soon. I had another viewer ask for the same video. You can definitely learn a ton from these videos as l plan on getting more in-depth on the future ones. Learning taxidermy through videos and manuals is a great way to get started and there are lots of great videos here on RU-vid to help you out. Also join some taxidermy groups on social media to learn.There are lots of people out there that are willing to share their knowledge.
@@ClearCreekTaxidermy looking forward to them (the future videos). I'm watching your hide prep video right now....LOL> trying to get up to date on what I've missed so far.
Hey Jesse thanks for watching the video! Go check out these taxidermy supply companies. McKenzie taxidermy supply, Matuska taxidermy. Both of these companies have all the tools and supplies needed. Check back here on the channel and I will do a video of all the tools I use for a mount. If you click the notification bell it will let you know when I upload new content.
I haven’t had any issues with them pulling away. As long as I thin the skin down around the eyes and readjust for a few days making sure to keep the eye lids pushed up against the eye.
Hey thanks for watching! If everything goes well I can normally get one mounted up in 2-3 hours. That’s having the hide and form prepped and the ear liners installed.
Any tips for a teen looking to get into taxidermy? I'm 15 and I collect and clean my own bones. I work with a thing I can get my hands on like roadkill and such, I really want to get into taxidermy but I'm not quite sure where to start, or even how. I was wondering if you have any advice or tips you would be willing to share
Hey thanks for watching! You are on the right track by watching RU-vid. With that being said there are tons of videos on here that will take you through different types of taxidermy.There are many different ways of educating your self such as videos, books and courses. Go check out some of the taxidermy supply companies such as McKenzie taxidermy supply, Matuska taxidermy supply and any others you find on the web. McKenzie has a set of manuals in a course that you can get that will get you started with different animals and will go over the tanning process and it includes deer, fish, and bird taxidermy. Be sure to turn on the notifications for the channel so you will know when I have more videos on the channel. I will have more videos coming up covering different topics of taxidermy. Hope this helps go check out my other videos and if you have any questions just send me a message.
Hey thanks for watching! Go check out some of the taxidermy supply companies. They have lots of instructional manuals,videos and reference books. I would get one of the deer taxidermy manuals and if you’re doing your own tanning follow the instructions for the tan your going to use. Then you have to get some basic tools such as lip tucking tools, modeling tools, scalpel and knives to get started. I will try to have a video up soon showing all the different tools I use.
Just curious what mounting stand are you using? 3 point or 2 point? Im looking at the one from McKenzie's MST606 what's your thought on the best floor mount stand?
Hey thanks for watching! I am currently using the MST606. I really like it and I also have two of the MST656 wall mounts that I use for finish work and painting. You can interchange the mounting heads between the to stands. This makes it quick and simple to move mounts from the floor stand to the wall stand.
I use the silicone coated braid from McKenzie taxidermy supply. I think it is the #3 size. Just check the description for the product and make sure it is the one for bid game.
I just bought all of the supplies to take shot at this. I do have a question pertaining to my mount. Do you have an e-mail I can send you a picture with a question?
The buck I shot has a really weird rack. His right brow tine go's back along his skull right where the Y incision would normally go. I was wondering how do I go about making the incision?I thi k he was hit by a car. I call him half rack.
There are two different things that you can do to work around the time. 1 you can move-the incision for the Y over to the left side of the tine by running your scalpel underneath it and continue down the back of the neck. 2 make a burr to burr incision and install the skull plate and rack after you have the cape on the form. Then just sew up the incision.
Hey thanks for watching! It depends on what part of the country you live in. There are several taxidermy schools available. you can go online and search taxidermy schools near me and that should get you headed in the right direction.
I'm from Southern IL on the boarder of st.louis Missouri. I just bout all the breakthrough magazines off a old taxidermist every issue. I been reading up on them. I am willing to travel for a few day class as well.
Hey thanks for watching! The mounting stand has a swivel base with a locking tee handle but I leave it loose so I can spin it around. You are correct it does make it flop around. I have updated to the McKenzie stands with the change out plates I really like them.
@@ClearCreekTaxidermy I really admire your art. And it is an art. I just received my shoulder mount yesterday and was very disappointed. The eyes 👀 don't match. Is there any way to fix 👀 when they're done? One is more closed and square than the other. Makes me sick to even look at.
There’s not much you can do with the eyes once the mount dries because the clay and or epoxy that is used to sculpt the eye cannot be soften back up to be redone. You could rehydrate the skin around the eye and you might get a little movement of the skin but I would not recommend doing that.
